Reports of the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, and especially the death toll, are all over the news today. The numbers are certainly chilling: right now, at least 22,500 dead.
The terms cyclone, hurricane and typhoon refer to essentially the same type of storm system, while a tornado refers to a different type of storm. Cyclone is the generic name, and the different names also reflect the different places over which they form. If the storm develops in the Pacific and Indian oceans, they are called cyclones; if they develop over the Atlantic, they are called hurricanes; while typhoon was derived from the Chinese name tai feng, so one can guess where that term is used.
Some numbers from a BBC article:
Orissa, India, October 1999: at least 10,000 dead
Central America:, October 1998: at least 18,000 dead
Chittagong, Bangladesh, April 1991: 140,000 dead
Andhra Pradesh, India, November 1977: 10,000 dead
Banqiao Dam, China, August 1975: 200,000 dead
Bangladesh, November 1970: up to 500,000 dead
Chittagong, Bangladesh, May 1963: at least 11,500 dead
East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh), May 1961: 11,000 dead
Bay of Bengal, India-East Pakistan border, October 1941: 40,000 dead
Shantou, China, August 1922: up to 60,000 dead
The terms cyclone, hurricane and typhoon refer to essentially the same type of storm system, while a tornado refers to a different type of storm. Cyclone is the generic name, and the different names also reflect the different places over which they form. If the storm develops in the Pacific and Indian oceans, they are called cyclones; if they develop over the Atlantic, they are called hurricanes; while typhoon was derived from the Chinese name tai feng, so one can guess where that term is used.
Some numbers from a BBC article:
Orissa, India, October 1999: at least 10,000 dead
Central America:, October 1998: at least 18,000 dead
Chittagong, Bangladesh, April 1991: 140,000 dead
Andhra Pradesh, India, November 1977: 10,000 dead
Banqiao Dam, China, August 1975: 200,000 dead
Bangladesh, November 1970: up to 500,000 dead
Chittagong, Bangladesh, May 1963: at least 11,500 dead
East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh), May 1961: 11,000 dead
Bay of Bengal, India-East Pakistan border, October 1941: 40,000 dead
Shantou, China, August 1922: up to 60,000 dead
It quite sucks to be Bangladesh... Five of the ten hurricanes mentioned above tore through Bangladesh, and no, you've read correctly -- that number for the hurricane that hit Bangladesh in 1970 was not 50,000 but 500,000.
In contrast, the death toll from Hurricane Katrina, one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the US, was 1836. Why the huge difference in numbers? Hurricane Katrina went through some heavily populated areas as well. A combination of factors I guess, including early detection systems and better infrastructure (even if you get advance notice, how far can you run if the transport network sucks?).
Somehow, when looking at the other news today, some seem especially frivolous. The spread on the US elections occupied a much bigger footprint on the front page news of the New York Times than the Myanmar cyclone. Picking over Obama's speech with a fine-tooth comb was certainly more important than 22,500 people dying half-way around the world; a death toll 20-times more than Hurricane Katrina just three days after the disaster. Articles on Myanmar in the Canadian news paled next to an article about the outrage over the opening of a West end strip club or the accolades heaped upon a man who used a baseball bat to whack a pitbull off a kid (and barefoot too, the article exclaimed). Oh, and one more Canadian soldier died in some war. Top stories on Google news now? Two of the three were on US elections, the third on Myanmar. Oh wait, a refresh showed that the third top story is now the China-Japan meeting, though the US elections still hold the top two spots. I couldn't even bear to look at the entertainment sections.
To be fair, I suppose a reason for the scanty media coverage is that even now, foreign journalists are barred from openly operating and the thinness of press and television coverage makes it all the harder for charities to raise money.
In contrast, the death toll from Hurricane Katrina, one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the US, was 1836. Why the huge difference in numbers? Hurricane Katrina went through some heavily populated areas as well. A combination of factors I guess, including early detection systems and better infrastructure (even if you get advance notice, how far can you run if the transport network sucks?).
Somehow, when looking at the other news today, some seem especially frivolous. The spread on the US elections occupied a much bigger footprint on the front page news of the New York Times than the Myanmar cyclone. Picking over Obama's speech with a fine-tooth comb was certainly more important than 22,500 people dying half-way around the world; a death toll 20-times more than Hurricane Katrina just three days after the disaster. Articles on Myanmar in the Canadian news paled next to an article about the outrage over the opening of a West end strip club or the accolades heaped upon a man who used a baseball bat to whack a pitbull off a kid (and barefoot too, the article exclaimed). Oh, and one more Canadian soldier died in some war. Top stories on Google news now? Two of the three were on US elections, the third on Myanmar. Oh wait, a refresh showed that the third top story is now the China-Japan meeting, though the US elections still hold the top two spots. I couldn't even bear to look at the entertainment sections.
To be fair, I suppose a reason for the scanty media coverage is that even now, foreign journalists are barred from openly operating and the thinness of press and television coverage makes it all the harder for charities to raise money.
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